[3] Thackeray began his professional career as a cartoonist with the English-language daily, The Free Press Journal in Bombay, but he left the paper in 1960 to form his own political weekly, Marmik.

These three individuals to a large extent were responsible for the success of Shiv Sena and stability of politics in Mumbai till 2000 to ensure it grows into an economic power center.

[13] Bal's father was a journalist and cartoonist by profession; he was also a social activist and a writer who was involved in a Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, which advocated the creation of a separate linguistic state for Marathi speakers.

[14] He also started a magazine named Prabodhan, where he promoted Hindu philosophies and nationalistic ideals to revive Hindutva in society.

After Thackeray's differences with the Free Press Journal, he and four or five people, including politician George Fernandes, left the paper and started their own daily, News Day.

[22][23] Thackeray drew cartoons for the Free Press Journal, the Times of India and Marmik besides contributing to Saamna till 2012.

Initially, Thackeray said it was not a political party but an army of Shivaji Maharaj, inclined to fight for the Marathi maanus (person).

[24] It demanded that native speakers of the state's local language Marathi (the "sons of the soil" movement) be given preferential treatment in private and public sector jobs.

[25] In Marmik, Thackeray published a list of corporate officials from a local directory, many being south Indians, citing it as proof that Maharashtrians were being discriminated against.

In 1969, Thackeray and Manohar Joshi were jailed after participating in a protest demanding the merger of Karwar, Belgaum and Nipani regions in Maharashtra.

[28] Politically, the Shiv Sena was anti-communist, and wrested control of trade unions in Mumbai from the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Local unemployed youth from the declining textile industry joined the party[27] and it further expanded because of Maharashtrians from the Konkan region.

[5][30] Thackeray and the Chief Minister Manohar Joshi were explicitly named for inciting the Shivsainiks for violence against Muslims during the 1992–1993 riots in an inquiry ordered by the government of India, the Srikrishna Commission Report.

[41] Opposition leftist parties alleged that the Shiv Sena has done little to solve the problem of unemployment facing a large proportion of Maharashtrian youth during its tenure, in contradiction to its ideological foundation of 'sons of the soil.

[8] On 27 March 2008, in protest to Thackeray's editorial, leaders of Shiv Sena in Delhi resigned, citing its outrageous conduct towards non-Marathis in Maharashtra and announced that they would form a separate party.

Goyal further said that Shiv Sena is no different from Khalistan and Jammu and Kashmir militant groups which are trying to create a rift between people along regional lines.

In response to threats made by Abu Azmi, a leader of the Samajwadi Party, that accusations of terrorism directed at Indian Muslims would bring about communal strife, Thackeray said that the unity of Mumbaikars (residents of Mumbai) in the wake of the attacks was a slap to fanatics of Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi and that Thackeray salute[s] those Muslims who participated in the two minutes' silence on 18 July to mourn the blast victims.

I do not say that I agree with all the methods he employed, but he was a wonderful organiser and orator, and I feel that he and I have several things in common...What India really needs is a dictator who will rule benevolently, but with an iron hand.

He also criticised Chhath Puja, a holiday celebrated by Biharis and those from eastern Uttar Pradesh, which occurs on six days of the Hindu month of Kartik.

[65] This was reportedly a response to MPs from Bihar who had disrupted the proceedings of the Lok Sabha in protest to the attacks on North Indians.

[65] After the matter was raised in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said: "If anybody has made any comment on our members' functioning in the conduct of business in the House, not only do we treat that with the contempt that it deserves, but also any action that may be necessary will be taken according to procedure and well established norms.

[80] He was accorded a state funeral[81] at Shivaji Park, which generated some controversy[82] and resulted from demands made by Shiv Sena.

[89] Among those present at his cremation were senior representatives of the Maharashtra government and the event was broadcast live on national television channels.

[92] The Hindu, in an editorial, said regarding the shutdown that "Thackeray’s legion of followers raised him to the status of a demigod who could force an entire State to shut down with the mere threat of violence".

In 2012, he instead gave a video-taped speech and urged his followers "to give the same love and affection to his son and political heir Uddhav as they had given him".

[5] Thackeray was known to convert popular sentiment into votes, getting into controversies and making no apologies for it though his son has tried to tone down the party's stance after his death.

[5] Gyan Prakash said, "Of course, the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement had mobilized Marathi speakers as a political entity, but it was Thackeray who successfully deployed it as an anti-immigrant, populist force.

In 2005, Ram Gopal Varma directed the Godfatheresque-Sarkar, super-hit thriller was inspired by the life of Bal Thackeray and North Indian politics.

A Bollywood biopic titled Thackeray, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and written by Shiv Sena politician Sanjay Raut, was released on 25 January 2019.

[102][103] Makarand Padhye played Balasaheb Thakeray in the 2022 Marathi film Dharmaveer and its sequel based on the life of Shiv Sena politician Anand Dighe.